Opinion
Federal Letter to the Editor

DeVos Ignores Teachers’ Needs

March 21, 2017 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

This retired teacher is indeed anxious (“DeVos Takes Reins at Ed. Department, While Anxieties Persist,” Feb. 15, 2017).

In the article, you quote the comments of the new U.S. secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, given at the Education Department headquarters: “All too often, adult issues can complicate and get in the way of a focus upon those we serve.” A Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Feb. 8, referring to DeVos, states that “she knows education should be about learning for children and not jobs for adults.”

These references to “jobs for adults” and “adult issues” getting in the way of education are demeaning and disheartening. Is this how the new education secretary views the dedicated teachers who strive daily to educate our children?

I was privileged to teach during the 1990s in Los Angeles’ first public magnet school. Students in 7th to 12th grade applied, were admitted by lottery, and bused from across the vast Los Angeles school district. When the students entered at age 12, they came from widely diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They arrived with distinctive skills, talents, and attitudes. Some struggled in remedial classes; others excelled in honors-level classes. Many made their best effort in regular pre-algebra and algebra classes.

I was a teacher who made the same effort with every student. I wish my students had been equally successful. My colleagues and I sought to facilitate student learning.

Demeaning these professionals, as Secretary DeVos is doing, is counterproductive. It deters bright young people from choosing teaching careers, discourages those already teaching, and harms the children we serve.

Betty R. Kazmin

Medford, Ore.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 22, 2017 edition of Education Week as DeVos Ignores Teachers’ Needs

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal An Ed. Dept. Staffer's 6,000-Mile Journey to Find Closure After Abrupt Job Loss
Jane Hodgdon took to the road to visit schools she had worked with in her 25 years at the U.S. Department of Education.
7 min read
Jane Hodgdon, a former 25 year employee of the US Department of Education, stands for a portrait with her dog Maxine, while touring Shelby County Public Schools’ Magic School Bus summer program on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
Jane Hodgdon stands with her dog Maxine while touring Shelby County Public Schools’ Magic School Bus summer program on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Simpsonville, Ky. After an abrupt end to her 25-year career at the U.S. Department of Education, Hodgdon embarked on a road trip to visit schools and educators she had worked with during her time at the federal agency.
Luke Sharrett for Education Week
Federal Trump Admin. Was Moving Ed. Dept. Programs Elsewhere Before a Court Intervened
The department had penned agreements with the U.S. departments of Labor and the Treasury to move programs, but was halted by court order.
8 min read
A Morehouse College student lines up before the school commencement, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. The Education Department announced on July 18, 2024, that it is cancelling an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service.
A Morehouse College student lines up before the school commencement on May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. The U.S. Department of Education had started to work with the U.S. Department of the Treasury on transferring its student loan portfolio, a new court filing shows.
Seth Wenig/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Adds Project 2025 Author to Education Department Staff
The appointment comes as Trump has already begun to embrace plans outlined in the controversial 900-page conservative policy agenda.
4 min read
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. The Trump administration has added the author of the conservative policy document's chapter on education to the U.S. Department of Education's staff.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Pauses Ed. Dept. Layoffs After Judge's Order
The U.S. Department of Education is slowly complying with a federal court order to reinstate staff.
3 min read
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the office of general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025, the last day of work for hundreds of agency employees. The Trump administration has had to bump back the day it planned to stop paying laid-off staff.
Jose Luis Magana/AP